This invention is directed to a method of extending and flavoring ice milk or ice cream which may take the form of either a soft serve product or a homemade ice cream mix.
The commercial production of ice cream typically involves an investment of $150,000 or more in machinery for making the ice cream. Using this machinery, the production of ice cream typically involves a three to four hour operation including various heating, cooling and mechanical mixing and handling steps. Thus, the energy, labor and machinery expenses of producing ice cream result in a relatively expensive product. The present invention is directed to two particular forms of such products, namely soft serve products and powdered mixes.
Certain terms of art will be defined for facilitating the description of the present invention. Generally, "ice cream" is regarded to be that which includes between 5% and 12% butterfat with 8% being about average. Products having less than 5% butterfat are referred to as "ice milk." "Non-dairy ice creams" have no butterfat. "Soft serve products" may be either ice cream, ice milk or a non-dairy ice cream. All are prepared to meet industry standards for resisting beating and flaking and are generally provided in liquid form. Powdered mixes are marketed for commercial ice cream preparation.
Soft serve products are very popular. The commercially prepared soft serve products are expensive however. Accordingly, there is a need for making the soft serve products less expensive while retaining the smooth, non-grainy qualities.
The omission of butterfat or lower percentages thereof generally result in a grainier, less smooth product which also requires lower temperatures to maintain it in a stable condition. It is also generally true that the greater the amount of butterfat and/or solids, the more expensive is the product.
Thus the objective of this invention is to provide a method for extending soft serve products and powdered ice cream mixes to produce a product having all of the characteristics of a high in butterfat content ice cream without using butterfat or any equivalent expensive ingredients.
Another object is to provide a method for extending soft serve products and powdered ice cream mixes which can be performed independently of the expensive machinery typically required for ice cream production.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a method for extending a soft serve product and/or powdered ice cream mix 20% to 35% with only a minimal added investment.
A related object is to provide a method for extending soft serve products and/or powdered ice cream mixes which can be easily performed in a minimum amount of time.
It has previously been known to use gelatin as an ingredient in various frozen desserts. For example, the 1921 U.S. Pat. No. 1,388,084 discloses a powder compound containing gelatin for use in milk shakes. In other frozen desserts such as that disclosed in the 1938 U.S. Pat. No. 2,253,614, the gelatin must be heated when mixed with the base liquid. Finally, others have proposed whipped desserts wherein air is beat into the product to increase its volume. Gelatin may be included in such desserts as in U.S. Pat. No. 2,130,654 but its function therein is not understood.
The prior art has thus used gelatin in the production of frozen desserts which are something other than ice cream or soft serve products. The present invention does not teach a method of making ice cream or a soft serve product but rather a method of extending an existing ice cream or soft serve product. In any event, it has not heretofore been known or thought possible to add a gelatin mix and water to a soft serve product and produce a product which has the same flavor quality and consistency as the commercially prepared soft serve products.
Besides the expense of commercially prepared soft serve products and powdered ice cream mixes, another problem is that such products are generally available only in chocolate and vanilla flavors. Other flavors are generally produced by adding extracts and expensive fruit pulps to a vanilla flavored soft serve product, thereby adding to the expense of the product with little or no increase in volume.
Accordingly, a further object of the invention is to provide a method for flavoring soft serve products and powdered ice cream mixes while, at the same time, reducing the cost per volume of the flavored end product.